Detachable latch arm for door fasteners



Nov. 14, 1950 s. B. HAsEL'nNE 2,529,506

DETCHABLE LATCH ARM FOR DOOR FASTENERS Filed June 18, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet l Inv/enfer:

' 6@ Hagel/ne.

Nov. 14, 1950 s. B. HAsELTlNE 2,529,605

DETACHABLE LATCH ARM FOR DOOR FASTENERS Filed June 18, 1947 2 sheets-sheet 2 -IW/v/en/ o7'. lacyjjasewne.

M. H jg@ Patented Nov. 14, 1950 DETACHABLE LATCH ARM FOR DOOR FASTENERS Stacy B. Haseltne, La Grange, Ill., assignor to W. H. Miner, Inc., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Application June 18, 1947, Serial No. 755,416

3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in detachable latch arms for door fasteners of automobile trucks.

One object of the invention is to provide in a door fastener for hinged doors of automobile trucks, comprising a vertically disposed, rotary operating bar mounted on the door, having crank members at the top and bottom ends, cooperating with a top keeper and a bottom latch arm, wherein the top keeper is permanently iixed to the body of the truck and the bottom latch arm is in the form of a slide detachably anchored to the truck body and carried by the door to be moved clear of the truck body with the door when the latter is swung open, latch means automatically actuated through relative movement of the latch arm with respect to the door to connect the latch arm to the truck body and disconnect the same therefrom. u l

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a latch means for a detachable keeper of a door fastener of the character described in the preceding paragraph, in the form of a pivoted latch element carried by the sliding latch arm and movable therewith with respect to the door and automatically actuated by Xed means on the door in the path of movement of the latch element to effect disengagement of the latch ele vment from the truck body and unlock the latch arm for movement with the door.

Other objects of the invention will more clearly appear from the description and claims hereinafter following.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is an elevational View of the rear end of the bodyportion of an automobile truck provided with hinged doors, illustrating my improvements in connection therewith. Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view, on an enlarged scale, corresponding substantially to the line 2 2 of Figure 1. Figure 3 is an elevational view, partly broken away, of the lower portion of the back plate of the bottom bearing or guide member for the operating bar, and the guide stirrup for the sliding latch arm of my improved mechanism. Figure 4 isa Vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale, corresponding substantially to the line 4 4 of Figure 1, showing the pivoted latch element of my improved mechanism in disengaged position. Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional View, corresponding substantially to the line 5 5 of Figure 2. Figure 6 is a horizontal sectional view, corresponding substantially to the line 6 6 of Figure 4. Figure 7 is a plan view of the latch arm of my improved mechanism. Figure 8 is a vertical sectional view, corresponding substantially to the line 8 8 of Figure 7. Figure 9 is a side elevational View of the latch element of my improved mechanism.

In said drawings, I0 indicates the rear end wall `of an automobile truck having a door opening II therein, closed by doors I2 and I3. The doors I2 and I3 are swingingly supported by the usual hinges I4 along the outer edges thereof. As is common practice, the inner edge of the door I2, which is the Vdoor rst closed, is overlapped by the inner edge of the door I3 to hold the door I2 closed.

My improved door fastener, as shown in the drawings, comprises broadly a vertically disposed,

rotary operating bar A, crank members B and C at the top and bottom ends of the bar, a xed upper keeper D, a sliding lower latch arm E, an upper guide bracket F for the upper end of the bar, a lower guide bracket G for the lower end of the bar, an operating handle lever I-I for rotating the bar, a pivoted latch element K for detachably looking the latch arm E to the truck body, and a latch plate or keeper L with which the element K is engageable.

The operating bar A is of the usual type employed in rotary door fasteners of hinged doors, being of rectangular cross section and having the crank members B and C secured to the top and bottom ends thereof. The upper and lower crank members B and C are of well-known design, each comprising a cylindrical shank portion I5 journaled in the corresponding guide bracket F or G, a radial crank arm I6 at the outer end of the shank, and a crank pin Il at the extremity of the crank arm. The upper keeper D, with which the upper crank member B is engageable, is of the usual well-known design, being Xed to the wall I0, above the door I3, and having an inclined cam slot within which the crank pin of the upper crank member operates in forcing the door open and closed. 'Ihe upper guide bracket F, in which the crank member at the upper end of the bar A is journaled, may be of any wellknown construction and needs no further description. Intermediate its ends, the bar A is supported by a bearing bracket I 8. The bar A is actuated by the handle lever I-I, which is pivotally connected to the bar to be swung to pendant position when the door has been forced open. The usual latch means I9 is also provided for locking the lever H in position when the door is closed.

The lower guide bracket G is of two-part construction, comprising front and back plates 2U and 2I, between which the shank portion I5 o'f the lower` crank member is journaled, the plates and 2l being fixed to the lower end of the door I3 by securing bolts 22 extending through the plates and the body of the door.

The back plate 2i has a stirruplike, depending guide portion 23, within which the latch arm E is slidingly guided. The stirruplike guide portion or bracket 23 extends beneath the door I3 and comprises vertically disposed, laterally spacedy inwardly projecting lip 28 at its lower end.

The latch arm E is in the form of an elongated slide guided in the stirrup 23 for sliding movement between the side walls 24-24 and between tlze bottom wall 25 and the bottom end of the flange 2l'. At its front end, the latch arm E has a transversely extending, upwardly opening camslot 29, within which the crank pin I'lof the lower crank member C is engaged to reciprocate the latch arm. Rearwardly of the slot 23, the latch arm E is provided with an upwardly open ing channel extending lengthwise thereof, and defined by laterally spaced side walls 3 I-3 I". The channel is open at its rear end and isadapted to accommodate the latch element K. The side walls ill-3| have laterally inwardly projecting,

transversely aligned trunnions .32-32 thereon,

which extend into the channel 30 near the front end thereof and serve to pivotally mount the; element K.

The latch element K is in the for-m ofY anelongated heavy plate mounted in the channel 3D, having a depending hook 33 at its rear or outer end, and a thickened or enlargedhead portion 34 at its front or inner end, provided with upwardly opening trunnion seats 35-35 at oppositesides thereof within which the trunnions 32-32 are engaged to mount the latch element for pivotal movement; As shown, the lower side of the head portion 34 is rounded off, as indicated at 355, and

the bottom wall of the channel 3E) of the latch arm E has a recess or opening 37 therethrough to accommodate this rounded head portion. The latch element K, as shown in Figure 2, is blocked against upward swinging movement by the stop flange 21 of the stirrup 23 when the latch element is in latching position and the door I3 is closed. At the inner or front end thereof, the latch element K has an upstanding lug 38, projecting from the head thereof, adapted to engage the lip 230i the flange 21 when moved to the position shown in Figure 4 to trip the latch and throw the same to disengaged position. As shown in the drawings, the portion of the latch element, which carries the hook 33, protrudes rearwardly beyond the stirrup 23 and is arranged to engage with the -latch plate L, which is carried by the end sill 3S of the truck. The end sill 39, as shown in Figures 2 and 4, is of channel-shaped form and has an opening 45 in the vertical web 4l thereof through which the hooked end of the latch element may freely pass. The latch plate or keeper L is welded to the inner side of the web 4l at the lower edge of the opening 40. Spaced rearwardly from the web 4I, a ;Ushaped stop or abutment plate 42 is provided with which the outer or rear end of the latch element K is engageable to arrest movement of the latch arm E toward the truck body, the plate 42 being welded along its entire outer edges to the top and bottom flanges 43-43 and the web 4I of the end sill 39.

The operation of my improved door fastener is as follows: Assuming that the doors I2 and I3 are in the closed position shown in Figures l and 2, and that the doors are to be opened, the attendant, after unlatching the lever H swings the same toward the right from the position shown in Figure l, thereby rotating the bar in contraclockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 5, from the position shown in said last named ligure to the position shown in Figure 6, the bar being rotated through an angle of approximately degrees. During this rotation of the bar, the pin of the lower crank member engages the inner or rea-r wall of the cam slot 2G of the sliding latch armE, forcing the .same rearwardly, and the latch element K against the abutment plate 42 of the end sill 39 of the truck. Inasmuch as the latch arm E is thus held stationary by being buttressed against the plate 42 through the medium of the latch element K, rotation of the crank member C forcibly cams the door outwardly. At the same time, the upper crank member, cooperating with the keeper D, also acts to cam the door outwardly. As the parts moverfrom the position shown in Figures 2 and 5 toward the position shown in Figures 4 and 6, the latch element K is moved rearwardly with respect to the door with the sliding latch arm E, and the lug 38 of the latch element comesinto engagement with the lip 28 of -he flange 21 of the stirrup 23, thereby tripping thelatchto swing the hooked end thereof upwardly to a suihcient height to clear the stop plate L. After the door I3 has been forced partly open, the attendant swings both doors fully open. As will be evident, inasmuch as the sliding latch arm E is carried by the door I 3, it is swung to an out of the way position with the door, thereby protecting the arm against damage when the truckis backed against a loading platform or wall ofV a building.

In forcing the doors closed, the reverse procedure is followed. The doors are first swung to partly closed position, thereby bringing the keeper engaging crank pin of the upper crank member B in position to enter the slot of the upper keeper D, and the hooked end of the latch element K of the sliding latch arm E into overhanging relation with the stop or latch plate L. Upon the bar being rotated in clockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 6, the crank pin of the lower crank member is swung against the front or outer wall of the cam slot 29 to actuate the latch arm E and slide the same outwardly with respect to the door. During the initial portion of this movement of the lower crank arm, the lug 38 of thelatch element vK is moved forwardly away from the trip member or lip 28 of the flange 21 of the stirrup member, thereby freeing the latch to drop through the action of gravity there.- on and engage the hook 33 thereof in back of the plate L. With the hook 33 thus operatively engaged, the camming action of the pin of the lower crank-member in the slot 29 of the latch arm E, forcibly pulls the door shut, as shown in Figure 2. At the same time, the upper crank member B, cooperating with the upper keeper D, alsoacts to force thedoor closed;

I claim:

1. In a fastener for a hinged door of a container, the combination with a vertically disposed, rotary operating bar mounted on the doo-r; of a guide stirrup depending from said door; a slide having reciprocating movement in said stirrup; a latch element pivotally connected between its ends to said slide, said element having a tail portion at its inner or front end and a hook member at its outer or rear end engageable with the container to detachably lock the slide to the container; means on said bar for reciprocating said slide by rotation of the bar; and a stop on said guide stirrup in the path of movement of the tail portion of said latch element for tripping said element to lift the hook member thereof out of locking engagement with the container.

2. In a fastener for a hinged door of a container, the combination with a vertically disposed,

rotary operating bar mounted on the door; of a guide stirrup depending from said door; a slide having reciprocating movement in said stirrup toward and away from said container; a latch pivotally connected between its ends to said slide, said latch having a hook at one end thereof engageable with said container to lock the slide to the container against outward movement away from the same; a projecting lug on the other end of said latch; crank means on said bar for reciprocating said slide by rotation of the bar; a stop on said stirrup in the path of movement of said lug and engageable thereby to trip the latch to disengage the hook thereof from the container; and abutment means on the container with which the hooked end of the latch engages to arrest movement of the same and of the slide toward said container.

3. In a fastener for a hinged door of a container, the combination with a vertically disposed, rotary operating bar mounted on the door; of a guide stirrup depending from said door; a slide having reciprocating sliding movement in said stirrup 'toward and away from said container; a latch element pivotally connected between its ends to said slide, said latch element having its rear end hooked and engageable with the container to lock the slide against outward movement away from the container, said latch element having an upstanding lug at its front end; a crank member on said bar including a crank pin engaged with said slide to reciprocate the same in reverse directions when said bar is rotated; and a sto-p on said guide stirrup in the path of movement of said upstanding lug of the latch element for tripping the latter to raise the hooked end thereof and disengage the latch element from the container and thereby unlock the slide, said hooked end of said element, when lowered by the action of gravity, engaging said container for holding said slide against movement outwardly away from the container.

STACY B. HASELTINE.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Moore .wwwwws.: Aug. 16, 1932 Number 

